Improving Nigeria’s internet presence for economic prosperity

Improving Nigeria’s internet presence for economic prosperity

FG, states slow down N1.9trn investments in network expansion

Ben Uzor Jr

Efforts by operators in Nigeria’s highly competitive telecommunications market to meet Quality of Service (QoS) mandates of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) are at present being disturbed by agencies of federal, state and local governments who delay in approving the site building proposals for the operators, Business Day can now reveal. Industry experts who spoke to BusinessDay have criticised the government’s approach, labeling it as counter-productive to economic development, as it prevents operators from rolling out the requisite network infrastructure to guarantee better quality of service.

Expectations are that operators will have to deploy additional 50, 000 Base Transceiver Station (BTS) – a critical network component required to deliver telecoms service to meet quality of service thresholds. Analysts have said that the industry would require an estimated N1.95 trillion to build the remaining 50,000 base stations that would guarantee optimum quality of service. However, efforts to roll out infrastructure are being slowed down by various absurd charges emanating from governments and their agencies which demand enormous sums of money from the operators before allowing them to build their base stations.

“The cost of building base stations from the time you secure the land where you want to install the BTS and the time it goes live is around $250,000,” Steve Evans, chief executive officer, Etisalat Nigeria confirmed in an interview. So if a base station costs $250, 000 (about N39 million), operators would require an estimated N1.95 trillion investment to erect additional 50,000 base stations across Nigeria to improve the quality of service by over 100 percent for voice and data services. Telecoms companies, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operators inclusive, have so far deployed 20, 000 BTS, leaving a wide deficit of 50, 000 BTS to be provided for optimum service delivery.

Telecoms subscribers have continually expressed apprehension about poor quality of service (QoS) in the various networks. Already, stakeholders in the telecoms sector have condemned and blamed the unsatisfactory quality of services on the insufficient number of BTS. “Multiple taxation and regulation by a myriad of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal, State and Local Governments, increase considerably the lead time to roll out and costs of deploying such infrastructure.

“Theft, vandalism and sabotage of network equipment, etc impede our capacity to carry out timely equipment upgrades contributing to protracted site deployment timelines”, Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), said. For Okey Itanyi, executive commissioner on stakeholders engagement at the NCC, Nigeria has made significant advancement in the provision of telecoms services over the last 10 years, “but recent developments in the industry with regard to various spurious taxes and levies by the state, local governments and their agents, portend grave dangers for the sector’”.

Itanyi said apart from their legal tax levels, many government agencies at federal, state and local levels had designed all sorts of spurious and illegal taxes imposed on telecoms operators for their towers sited in their vicinity, in a desperate quest to boost internally generated revenue. “Where operators resist to pay the levies by seeking justification for imposing such levies on them, their personnel have been prevented from maintaining existing sites, prevented from building new ones to boost service quality in such areas or the base stations ordered shut down by the government authorities. “All these debar telecoms firms from rolling out BTS to the required number for the expected quality of service.”

First published on Monday, 16 April 2012.

Tapping the potentials of Nigeria's mobile app market

The advent of the Global System for Mobile (GSM) in Nigeria more than a decade ago has brought with it immense opportunities for entrepreneurs and innovative minds. Perhaps, one of the most untapped gold mines in the telecommunications sector is the applications development space. Phone makers, telecoms firms are increasingly looking to forge strategic alliances with mobile apps developers to further expand the scope of the market, writes BEN UZOR JR

Global perspectives

Undoubtedly, the last decade has witnessed a remarkable transition in the global mobile phone market. The extensive proliferation of devices and mobile applications has turned the heads of every successful business player in the world, in its direction. Interestingly, the robust growth prospects in both iPhone and Android application domain has been drawing new players and inciting independent application developers to step-up the quality-levels of their solutions. But more importantly, this decade will indeed be best remembered as the dawn of a new era in the field of mobile phones and applications development. Those culpable, Apple and Google, the two dominant players of this ecosystem, must be given credit for this metamorphosis that has seen the sub-sector become a massive revenue generator.

Some industry watchers strongly believe that it wasn’t until the launch of Apple Appstore that the mobile applications industry started to blossom in earnest. First, it fundamentally changed the revenue model in favor of the developers which has become the current de-facto standard (70/30) in the mobile apps business. Secondly, it brought more developers into the ecosystem. It also fostered the before now erroneous idea that to be relevant one needed to focus on just 1-2 platforms rather than the entire device ecosystem. And lastly, the time-to-market equation changed for developers so that they could get the application from conception to market in a fraction of a time of what was possible in the past. Finally, the importance of a seamless end-to-end user experience to increase usage and monetisation became a core principle in the mobile applications space.

Market projections

Expectations are that the total global mobile app market will be worth $25 billion by 2015 (up from about $6.8 billion in 2010), according to projections from MarketsandMarkets. Obviously, App Store holds nearly 20.5 percent of that particular cake, while the global market is forecast to record a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 29.6 percent from 2009 to 2014. Advancements in network technologies, reduction of mobile data usage costs, growing adoption of smartphones as well as a continuous increase in application usability are some of the critical factors contributing to this immense growth. However, the risk of data theft through delivery of phishing and spyware in mobile applications remain the biggest downside to the surge in the numbers of available applications and capable phones.

According to the report, North America led the market since 2009 with a 41.6 percent revenue share. On the other hand, Asia is the largest market in terms of downloads with 36 percent. The European mobile applications market stood at $1.2 billion in 2009, but is expected to become the largest market by 2015, at $8.4 billion and growing at a CAGR of 33.6 percent during 2010 to 2015. In emerging markets, the dynamics of the app market are quite different. To effectively monetise the significant app momentum, creative strategies are needed to attract new consumers and different business models will be required to make the regional ecosystems viable. This, according to analysts is essentially because the active user base and growth rates in some of these countries exceed those from the western markets, irrespective of the device type. Overall, by enhancing discovery, improving user experience, dropping price barriers, and increasing developer revenue share, the apps ecosystem can continue to prosper.

Prospects in Nigeria

A huge market for mobile apps exists in Nigeria and Africa, analysts have said. This is basically because Africa has been underdeveloped for so long, and mobile technology in general embodies the possibility of bridging the digital divide and making information, entertainment and productivity tools easily accessible to the man on the street. Moreover, the immense work Mobile Network Operators’ (MNO) in Nigeria have done in terms of providing coverage across the continent cannot be over-emphasised. Besides, telecoms infrastructure is perhaps the most robust communication network infrastructure available in Nigeria. Bayo Puddicombe, a publisher from Pledge 51 who developed an app that is available on the Nokia Store, in an interview, said strong demand for applications exists in Nigeria.

He however expressed discontent that the bulk of the supply is coming from foreign markets and developers. “This also means there is an opportunity for mobile developers to create relevant content which will be useful to local users within the African context. “Coming to Nigeria, it is said that one out of every five Africans is a Nigerian. We are also the 7th largest country in the world by population count. “This country has generated a lot of interest from several international players due to sheer volume of traffic generated from people who access the internet using their mobile devices. For instance, Nigeria is rated as the fourth largest market for the Opera Mini (mobile phone) browser in the world today. “What we have found is that for a number of people in Nigeria, the mobile phone is the primary means of accessing information via the internet. This represents a huge market for local applications and tools.”

Challenges

The most significant challenges are primarily due to infrastructure deficits in several key areas such as power, communications, electronic payments, etc. These, according to industry watchers add significantly to the cost of developing applications and also reduce the opportunities for revenue generation. Most indigenous developers are optimistic that there will be considerable improvements in several of these areas in no distant time. On the bright side, the barriers to entry for an aspiring developer are relatively low. “If well harnessed, this can be transformed into a huge industry with significant potential for growth. When critically analysed, the major resources required to develop mobile applications are your mind, a half decent computer and maybe internet access.

Then once you have succeeded in developing a mobile application product and made it available online, you open yourself to not just a local market, but a global one”, Puddicombe posited. Though, there are a number of indigenous developers doing great things in the field of applications development, Nigeria is not close to hitting critical mass just yet. It is in our best interest to encourage more young people to consider this opportunity. This is probably one of the many answers to the unemployment challenges amongst youths facing our nation today. Several critical elements for the establishment of a vibrant mobile developer community are already in place. In Nigeria, funding for innovative start-ups of any nature is still a bit of an issue as the venture capital industry is still in development.

Moreover, a number of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) have specifically expressed their desire to support local developers. Anybody with the right skill set can readily tap into that.

Nokia’s experience

Mobile phone manufacturer, Nokia is a strong player in Nigeria’s budding applications development market. Nokia strongly believes that indigenous apps developers must build locally relevant apps for the Nigerian market in particular and the African market in general. Olumide Balogun, services manager, ecosystem developer experience, Nokia West Africa, said that opportunities abound for local apps developers in generating huge income from the Nokia Store. Alluding to the opportunities abound in the emerging ecosystem including app purchasing and in-app advertising, Balogun said that there were over 177 publishers of applications on Nokia Store with more than one million downloads for their apps.

He further said that app developers on the Nokia platform have a 160 percent chance of getting their applications downloaded than any other platform. This, he explained, was largely because of Nokia’s widespread availability across the globe, adding that the Nokia Store records 11 million downloads per day. In view of this, industry analysts argue that local apps developers to brace and develop apps that would attract download. “In my opinion, the challenge for application developers in Nigeria and across the globe is to build applications that will attract downloads from millions of Nokia consumers across the world. Developers of any application on the Nokia store get 70 percent of all accruing revenue.”

Expanding market scope

Forging strategic partnership is critical in the emerging ecosystem, industry analysts have said. This, according to them is because within the Telemedia value chain, no single entity can run alone. Only recently, mobile network operator, MTN opened up its network platform to support locally developed applications. To this end, indigenous developers of applications that run on smart phones now have an opportunity to tap into the multi-billion dollar applications development market.

Beyond this, the increasing popularity of mobile applications has driven a need for operators to start focusing on reducing the barriers to adoption. In another demonstration of its desire to further grow the application ecosystem, MTN in strategic partnership with Digital Solutions Group, introduced a number of enterprise apps designed specifically to provide mobile workers access to their organisation’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and applications on the go, thus making them more productive and efficient. MTN Enterprise Apps also helps transforms an organisation’s workers into an empowered mobile workforce that can effectively get work done in or out of the office.

Speaking at the launch of the MTN Enterprise Applications in Lagos, Babatunde Osho, chief enterprise solution officer, MTN, said the launch was another indication of the company’s commitment towards developing a vibrant community of local developers, by providing a platform for ideas generation and more importantly, assisting local developers’ monetise their skills. Industry analyst say applications have now emerged as a fundamental driver of enabling lifestyle and productivity, as consumers want to access relevant content from PCs, laptops, mobile phones and even in-car systems.

Some of the apps showcased at the launch were: The MTN Transport and Logistics App that enables organizations with large fleet, monitor, track and manage their vehicles, drivers and deliveries remotely from their phone or handheld device. The MTN Field Force Automation App, which allows field sales teams take customer orders remotely and initiate deliveries without having to return to the office. Others include: MTN Device Security, MTN Device Backup & Sync, and MTN Cloud Storage Apps. “We are a South African company that is working with MTN Nigeria on the mobile applications development space. We had a similar launch in MTN South Africa last year.

“We are helping MTN to develop apps that can unlock business potentials for large and small business. We have the BATs, Coca-Cola, etc who are using these applications for their workforce management. It is solution that takes care of unique problems. Hence, we emphasise the customisation capability of the solution. Every customer has different challenges. And some have already bought enterprise solutions in their respective companies. This will be a layer on top of that, it is an enabler. Most of the enterprise solutions that organisations have do not have the scalability and mobility. This is an add-on for them,”
Ramsey Mosethedi, sales director, Digital Solutions Group, said.

Conclusion

Most of the resources required are freely available online and so I would say that what is most required is infrastructure in terms of stable power supply and affordable quality internet access. Then we will truly be positioning the country to produce a generation of innovative internet/mobile start-ups that emerge from a garage or basement somewhere and grow into successful multi-million naira entities.

First published on Business Day Media, Tuesday, 03 April 2012

PPP central to driving rural telephony, say telcos

Ben Uzor Jr

Operators in Nigeria’s telecommunications market have pointed out the need to adopt a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model in order to deepen rural telephony services in the country. According to the operators, there is need to harness the growth potentials in rural communities which could be catalysed by telecoms services. Osondu Nwokoro, head of regulatory affairs for Airtel told Business Day at a telecoms forum recently that there calculating addressable markets have failed to capture.

“PPP is central to getting rural telephony to work. Collaboration however must cut across domestic and international partners. One of the problems we are having with rural telephony is that operator buy-in is lacking in the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF). There are no set targets and time- lines in terms of implementation. “There should be a list clearly stating and delineating those areas in Nigeria that are unserved or underserved, so that requisite funds could be delivered to them for the deployment of telecoms services. Rural telephony must be target and performance driven, “ Nwokoro noted.

Wale Goodluck, corporate service executive, MTN believes that more incentives are required to ensure that rural telephony succeeds. Although, several bottlenecks impeding network rollout in rural communities exist, Goodluck challenged telecoms operators to adopt low-cost models in providing telecoms services in rural communities. According to him, the future remained in rural telephony, adding that there would be greater purchasing power in the rural communities soon. Goodluck also called on government to improve on electric power distribution and to consider subsidy on telecoms infrastructure to ensure better rural telephony penetration.

For Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications of Nigeria (ALTON), the huge amount spent on diesel, generating sets and other associated expenses could otherwise be spent on network investment towards the provision of qualitative services to Nigerians. Speaking on power as a major hindrance to rural telephony, Adebayo said “community agitation and militancy across the six geopolitical zones restricts rollout, constraints maintenance and re-fuelling of sites, especially in rural communities, and the challenges seriously affect our ability to deliver the desired grade of service across the federation.”

First published on Business Day Media, 10 April 2012

Telcos to fuel generators with N46bn this year

Ben Uzor Jr

Telecommunications companies in Nigeria will spend about N45.9 billion in 2012 to fuel generators that power Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) – a critical network infrastructure component required to deliver telecoms services. Informed analysts in the power sector told BusinessDay that the amount could provide 284.8 megawatts of electricity at $1 million per megawatt, as states like Yobe, Taraba and Akwa Ibom can have 24 hours power supply if they have 284.8 megawatts of electricity each.

This gives credence to a recent CEO Survey conducted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers International Limited, which stated that among the major concerns to Nigerian CEOs is energy cost, which rated 93 percent on the scale of their major sources of concerns. The telecoms operators are threatening to “do something radical” in the next 18 months if the country’s epileptic power situation persists. A source told BusinessDay that tariff hike may be one of the options on the table.

Titi Omo-Ettu, president, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), spoke weekend at a consultation forum organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to obtain requisite industry input as the commission looks to develop a five-year (2013-2017) management plan. Omo-Ettu, who addressed a broad section of industry stakeholders, said operators use 25 million litres of diesel monthly to fuel 20, 000 generators located at over 15, 000 cell sites across Nigeria.

“This invariably means telecoms companies will spend N45.9 billion in 2012 to fuel generators, given that a litre of diesel is sold at N153. If in the next 18 months nothing is done about this, we might do something radical,” he said. He said telecoms services were poor across board, adding that power supply contributes significantly in lowering quality of service levels in the industry. In the same vein, Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators in Nigeria (ALTON), called on government to eliminate some of the bottlenecks hindering deployment of telecoms infrastructure.

Issues revolving around multiple taxes, right-of-way licences, according to him must be swiftly addressed in order to assist operators roll out networks timely to meet the growing demands of subscribers. According to him, Nigeria requires 60, 000 base stations to meet QoS thresholds. “There are currently a little over 20, 000 base station sites in Nigeria serving a population of over 150 million people by the end of year 2011. In comparism, there were approximately 55, 000 base station sites in the UK at the end of 2011 serving a population of just 60 million people,” Adebayo disclosed. On the other hand, the NCC disclosed that it had adopted some definite measures to address the issue of QoS. Eugene Juwah, executive vice chairman, NCC, said the commission had engaged the services of seven Driven Test Contractors to carry out quality of service testing in the six geo-political zones and Lagos.

“They will commence fully by April. It is expected to lead to comprehensive and across-the-country quality of service monitoring. In addition, our Monitoring and Enforcement Personnel have been very busy lately, either shutting down the activities of illegal users of spectrum or engaging importers of handsets that are not type-approved. We will not permit professional banditry in the industry as we are fully empowered by the Communications Act to deal with issues of compliance and standard,” he stated.

First published on Business Day Media, 1 Apr 2012.

110.4 m subscribers registered, says NCC

• Commission maps out five year strategic plan
Ben Uzor Jr

As the ongoing registration of Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards nears conclusion, 110.43 million lines have so far been registered, a whopping 14.28 million more than the official figure of 96,150,836 active mobile lines in the country. Eugene Juwah, executive vice-chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), who disclosed this weekend at a consultation forum organised by the commission to obtain requisite input as the commission looks to strengthen its five year (2013-2017) management plan, said it was a lucid indication of multiple registrations that must be corrected during the verification process that will soon commence.

This, Juwah further added would foster database integrity and credibility. “This will naturally lead to the implementation of a more robust Mobile Number Portability (MNP) which is at advanced stage of actualisation. The exercise, we believe can positively impact on Quality of Service (QoS) and stimulate another facet of healthy competition. That project will also broaden the choices available to subscribers and impose a code of behaviour on the operators to retain their subscriber.” He said five year strategic master plan would further deepen Information Communications Technology (ICT) penetration for economic gain in Nigeria.

The plan, which spans from 2013 to 2017, according to NCC, would transit the Nigerian economy to a digital one. According to Juwah, there is the need for the NCC to develop a five- year Strategic Management Plan to guide the regulatory body’s interest and intervention activities while enabling it respond quickly to the challenges of the sector with the overall aim of paving the way for an ICT-driven economic development. Therefore, he said the aim of the consultative forum is to ensure that critical inputs from ICT industry stakeholders are considered in the development of the five-year (2013 -2017) strategic management plan.

In her keynote address, Omobola Johnson, minister of Communications Technology, represented by John Ayodele, a director in the ministry, said if the plan must materialize, there was need for collaboration between government and the public. According to her, the challenges facing emerging economies, such as ours is the ability to prepare citizens for the growing information challenges, “I believe that enabling ICT Environment, the country can leapfrog and compete globally.” In her own contribution, Funke Opeke, chief executive officer, MainOne Cable Company, believed that if the plan must work and contribute meaningfully to the economy, it is imperative to have ubiquitous broadband in the country.

Opeke, who lamented the lack of a national backbone infrastructure for the deployment of broadband, said developmental objectives of Vision 20:2020 and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) may remain an illusion in Nigeria. “It's unfortunate; we do not have a national backbone to serve as common distribution architecture in Nigeria as it is in South Africa and Ghana. The Infrastructure we have now was built by proprietary investors and it is not being shared. For us to achieve ubiquitous broadband access, end- users must have the service at their doorsteps but this will not be possible without shared infrastructure", she stated.

For Wale Goodluck, corporate services executive, MTN, there is need to strengthen the rural telephony project. In NCC’s plan for the future, Goodluck argued that rural communities are moving targets. “A rural community today might not be a rural community tomorrow. So, we must take that into consideration. We are going to see greater purchasing power in the rural communities. We have an opportunity to prepare our networks for the future needs. Telcos must begin to adopt a low-cost model that makes it easier to roll out additional infrastructure. However, more incentives are required to ensure that rural telephony succeeds.”

Osondo Nwokoro, regulatory director, Airtel Nigeria pointed out that there has not been sufficient operator buy-in as it relates to the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF). He said the USPF must set clear targets to get the full buy-in of operators which would consequently drive infrastructure rollout to un-served and under-served areas of the country. “Public Private Partnership is central to the success of rural telephony. It should be target and performance driven. There should be a list clearly stating those areas of Nigeria that are unserved or underserved in order to deploy requisite funds to those areas”, he concluded.

E-waste: A nation sitting on a keg of gun powder

Nigerians are fast catching up with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) euphoria sweeping across the globe. As the craze for new technologies reaches astronomical heights, the issue of e-waste has become a subject of immense concern for governments worldwide. Sadly, the federal government has failed to prioritise the issue of its elimination as Nigeria becomes a thriving dump yard.

“We are sitting on a keg of gun powder that will one day explode. While developed countries have discovered ways of managing e-waste; Nigeria is still lagging behind….” This was the blunt reaction of a computer products dealer at Ikeja Computer Village who expressed dismay at federal government’s flippant attitude towards addressing the electronic waste menace. E-waste is now regarded as a ‘rapidly expanding’ issue considering the health and environmental implications posed by the indiscriminate dumping of electronic materials. So, what is e-waste? It may be defined as discarded computers, office electronic equipment, entertainment device electronics, mobile phones, television sets and refrigerators.

This definition includes used electronics which are destined for reuse, resale, salvage, recycling, or disposal. Rapid changes in technology, changes in media, falling prices, and planned obsolescence have resulted in a fast-growing surplus of electronic waste around the globe. Let us look at what’s obtainable across the globe in terms of how other mature nations are coping with the challenge. Though, technical solutions are available, in most cases a legal framework, a collection system, logistics, and other services need to be implemented before a technical solution can be applied. An estimated 50 million tons of E-waste are produced each year. The United States America (USA) discards 30 million Personal Computers (PC) each year and 100 million phones are disposed of in Europe each year.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that only 15-20 percent of e-waste is recycled, the rest of these electronics go directly into landfills and incinerators. According to a report by UNEP titled, "Recycling - from E-Waste to Resources," the amount of e-waste being produced - including mobile phones and computers - could rise by as much as 500 percent over the next decade in some countries, such as India. The US is the world leader in producing electronic waste, tossing away about 3 million tons each year. On the other hand, China already produces about 2.3 million tons (2010 estimate) domestically, second only to the United States. And, despite having banned e-waste imports, China remains a major e-waste dumping ground for developed countries.

Electrical waste contains hazardous but also valuable and scarce materials. Up to 60 elements can be found in complex electronics. In the US, an estimated 70 percent of heavy metals in landfills come from discarded electronics. While there is agreement that the number of discarded electronic devices is increasing, there is considerable disagreement about the relative risk (compared to automobile scrap, for example), and strong disagreement whether curtailing trade in used electronics will improve conditions, or make them worse. According to an article in Motherboard, attempts to restrict the trade have driven reputable companies out of the supply chain, with unintended consequences.

African continent

Africa, typically a dumping ground for electronic waste from other mature nations, could produce more e-waste than the European Union by 2017, experts have said. Across Africa, a combination of population growth and increased access to mobile phones and other technologies will produce a surge in e-waste over the next five years, Miranda Amachree of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency told reporters at the Pan-African Forum on E-Waste. While Africa has long received tons of waste for disposal from developed nations, a recent report by the United Nation (UN) Basel Convention’s E-waste Africa Program found that as much as 85 percent of Africa’s e-waste is now local.

In five West African nations, a UNEP report showed that ten times more people have PC compared with a decade ago, and 100 times as many people have cellphones. In those countries alone, between 650,000 and 1 million tons of domestic e-waste are now generated per year. By comparison, the U.S produces the most e-waste annually, with about 3 million tons, followed by China (2.3 million). “There is population growth … and there is the penetration rate — there are increasing numbers of people with access to these devices. “You have to bear in mind that there are efforts undertaken at all levels to increase access — it’s part of development,” she said. Kummer described the growth of both the population and the penetration rate as ‘exponential’, adding that Africa must “move towards more formal recycling in order to ensure precious metals are properly extracted from, say, mobile phones.”

Nigerian situation

The study conducted by the UNEP showed that Nigeria was one of the major sources of electronic waste in Africa without the needed protection against its impact on human health and the environment in the country and the West African sub-region. Detailing the Nigerian situation, the report also disclosed that “an analysis of 176 containers of two categories of used electrical and electronic equipment imported into Nigeria, conducted from March to July 2010, revealed that more than 75 per cent of all containers came from Europe, approximately 15 per cent from Asia, five per cent from African ports (mainly Morocco) and five per cent from North America.”

Earlier, the Basel Action Network (BAN), a Seattle-based environmental group, disclosed that an estimated 500 shipping containers with a load equal in volume to 400,000 computer monitors or 175,000 large TV sets enter Lagos each month. About 75 percent of some shipments are classified as e-waste. “The reasons for this huge influx of e-waste into Lagos are not far fetched. “Lagos has a large sea port where the items easily slip through. “Also there is a huge appetite for cheap second hand imported electronics items in the city,” Peter Ejiofor, a Lagos dealer in second hand PCs, said. But Lagos is indeed paying a huge environmental cost for these cheap items.

Most of the imported items get discarded almost as soon as they are shipped into Lagos. "E-waste is a major problem, it's a major challenge, we have a pile up of them," Ola Oresanya, managing director of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), said. With no facilities to recycle e-wastes, they are indiscriminately discarded around the city. Some of them end up in dumpsites where they are burnt. Environmentalists have expressed apprehension over the health implications of this as toxic gas are pushed into the atmosphere during burning.

“It is a very worrisome situation because components from these electronic items are very hazardous," Leslie Adogame of the Nigerian Environmental Society stated. He is particularly concerned about the health implication. "There is open burning. Some components produce a lot of particulate matters,” he says. "People around the areas where the wastes are being burnt have to be suffering from chest-related diseases because they inhale a lot of noxious substances,” he added.

Health implications

Certain components of some electronic products contain materials that render them hazardous, depending on their condition and density. Thousands of old electronic goods and components leave the EU for Africa every day, despite regulations prohibiting the trade in e-waste. Some are repaired and reused, but many are beyond repair, meaning that they will eventually be dumped in places where no facilities exist for safe recycling. The poor in Nigeria regularly sort through piles of e-waste, burn plastics, break open lead-laden with Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs) from computer monitors while picking apart electronic waste to scavenge for the precious metals inside.

These unsuspecting poor scavengers expose themselves and their environment to abysmal amounts of toxic hazards thereby becoming vulnerable to health risks. The poorest people, in many cases children are put to work breaking apart TVs, mobile phones, game consoles, etc, that arrive in their tons with no safety measures; they are exposed to highly toxic chemicals, including mercury, which damages the brain; lead, which can damage reproductive systems; and cadmium, which causes kidney damage. “Large parts of groundwater in Nigeria have also become polluted and un-safe for human consumption due to indiscriminate disposal of e-waste. “They have contaminated the soil, air, and food also.

“Chemicals and toxins from e-waste are known to lead to serious health problems like reproductive failures, genital deformities, thyroid malfunctions, behavioral abnormalities and immune suppression, miscarriages in women, foetal deformation bronchitis, and evidences of polychlorinated biphenyl’s (PCB) to cancer in animal, reproductive system, nervous system, endocrine, stunted growth and other serious health crisis”, James Okafor, a medical practitioner told Business Day. In terms of air pollution, particulate materials such as dust, ash, soot, smoke, toxic metals released into the air in the form of metal fumes by waste incinerators e.g. nickel, beryllium, cadmium, fumes: chlorinated dioxins & furans affects humans, animals, plants, building materials and pollutes the soil.

Government’s failure

Despite increasing evidence of the harm caused by electronic waste, the federal government has failed to prioritise the issue of its elimination as over five million second-hand computers are unloaded every year in Lagos. To this end, Nigeria is emerging as the top dumping ground for e-waste from developed and mature markets. These "junks" have a unique pattern of flooding the market as they are shipped and air-freighted into the country. But more importantly, they pass through what is perceived to be a litany of security agencies struggling for recognition at the nation's sea and air ports as well as approved and unapproved but known border routes. According to reliable information from the UNEP, globally 20 - 50 million tons of electronics are discarded each year. However, less than 10 percent gets recycled and half or more end up mostly in developing countries like Nigeria.

Industry watchers say that as western technology becomes cheaper and the latest machine comes to be regarded as a disposable fashion statement, dumping would only intensify. The chaotic management of e-waste arising from the uncontrolled importation of disused computers, mobile phones, and television sets into the country has drawn the resentment of various Information Technology (IT) associations in Nigeria. Commenting on the issue, Jimson Olufuye, vice chairman of the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA), said, “As far as I am concerned, though we have a full fledged ministry charged with the responsibility of enforcing all environmental laws, guidelines, policies, standards and regulations in Nigeria, nothing proactive has been done towards tackling the issue of e-waste.

“Industry has made recommendations on several occasions to the ministry as regards collaboration to arrest the situation, but all have proved futile. In this regard, we cannot stop the importation of PCs into the country because penetration is still low. I must admit, this is a very serious issue that demands all stakeholders to come together to find ways to curb this menace”, he added. Still assessing the magnitude of e-waste importation into the country, John Oboro, Secretary-General, Computer and Allied Products Dealers Association of Nigeria (CAPDAN), noted that the failure of the Federal Government to take a significant step to manage the waste arising from the importation of disused electronics is unsafe as the nation may have to pay for it in a disgusting way in the near future.

Oboro cried out: “We are sitting on a keg of gun powder that will one day explode. Developed countries have discovered ways of managing e-waste. It is quite unfortunate that the manufacturers of even the new ones do not have plans of how to take back these things when they become obsolete. “We need the foreign information technology (IT) firms to take full responsibility for the safe recycling of their products and put an end to the growing e-waste dumps that poison people and the environment across the developing world, Nigeria inclusive. We need companies to introduce voluntary take-back schemes and remove hazardous substances from their products so they can be recycled safely and easily”, he said. Oboro challenged the relevant government agencies in Nigeria to ensure that only electronic products tested and certified fit for use are allowed into the country.

In the same vein, Charles Uwadia, past president, Nigerian Computer Society, added: “Well, I would not say that the Federal Government is not doing anything to tackle e-waste. I am aware that the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) is trying to stop the importation of fairly used electronic goods into the country so as to prevent Nigeria from becoming a dumping ground. One would expect our government to be much more upbeat as regard ridding this country of e-waste.” Continuing, he said, “For those used electronics that have already found their way into the country, government must find a way to take back these goods for recycling and use materials derived for other useful purposes.

Also, for those electronic goods containing harmful chemicals, there should be a methodological system of getting rid of them. However, I am not aware of any regulatory policy on e-waste. Experts, however, say that Nigeria is lagging behind as regards implementing international environmental treaties as it lacks the needed national regulatory framework to implement them. Regardless of the international regulations prohibiting trade in e-waste, thousands of old electronic goods and components leave the European Union and America for Nigeria every day. Under the EU legislation, it is illegal to export used electronic products indiscriminately as the Basel Convention on hazardous and other wastes adopted in 1989 and entered into force in 1992, obliges member countries to ensure that hazardous wastes are managed and disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner.

Global strategic alliances

International collaboration to promote environmentally sound management of e-waste was strengthened with the signing of an agreement between the Secretariat of the Basel Convention (SBC), a United Nation Organisation’s (U.N.O) system and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) specifically aimed at protecting the environment from the adverse effects of e-waste. According to the U.N last week, the rapid spread of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) has raised public attention on the negative effects arising from inadequate disposal and waste management. Besides, the body warned developing countries, including Nigeria, with huge market potential to be wary of mobile phone waste, which according to it are extremely dangerous to the living.

The global body stressed that electronic waste, which contains toxic materials used in the manufacturing process, can cause widespread damage to the environment and human health. According to UN, developing countries are expecting a surge in e-waste, with mobile phone waste expected to grow exponentially, adding that sharp increases of e-waste have until now not been matched with policy and regulatory mechanisms nor with infrastructure to cope with the influx in developing countries. The global body noted that, currently, only 13 per cent of e-waste is reported to be recycled with or without safety procedures. It noted that, the issue of e-waste as an emerging telecommunications policy and regulatory issue have received recognition at the highest level in ITU.

Already, part of measures adopted by ITU in this area include; the adoption of Recommendation ITU-T L.1000, “Universal power adapter and charger solution for mobile terminals and other Information Communication Technology (ICT) devices”, which dramatically reduces production and cuts the waste produced by mobile chargers; the adoption of Recommendation ITU-T L.1100, which details the procedures to be employed when recycling rare metal components included in ICT equipment and the designing e-Waste management strategies for environmental protection; publishing and disseminating best practices; and assisting countries in the drafting, adoption and implementation of policies, laws, and regulations related to e-waste management.

Meanwhile, the UN noted that the level of global environmental policy, the Basel Convention on the Control of Trans-boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, which came into force in 1992, is the most comprehensive environmental agreement on the management of hazardous and other waste, “but many countries have not yet successfully translated its provisions into their national legislation. Now, with the signing of the ITU-SBC Administrative Agreement, efforts between both UN mechanisms will be leveraged, maximising value at the global level and strengthening collaboration between telecommunication/ICT and environmental policy makers for the global good.”According to ITU Secretary-General, Hamadoun Touré, the ICT sector is already making significant progress in improving its environmental performance and reducing e-waste through improved best practices and standards.

“The collaboration with the Secretariat of the Basel Convention will allow the global community to address this ever-increasing problem through a holistic approach, involving the recycling industry as well as environmental policy makers”, stressed Toure. To the Executive Secretary of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, Jim Willis: “The positive impact of ICT on development, particularly in developing countries and countries with economies in transition is well recognised and acknowledged. “However, ICT equipment has to be dealt with in view of its entire life-cycle, and this includes the time when the equipment comes to its end-of-life and becomes e-waste. Collaboration between ITU and SBC will further our shared objectives in support of sustainable development that essentially includes environmentally sound management of waste.”

Solution

An Information Technology expert, Kunle Ogunfowokan said there was need for foreign information technology (IT) firms to take full responsibility for the safe recycling of their products and put an end to the growing e-waste dumps that poison people and the environment across the developing world, Nigeria inclusive. “We need companies to introduce voluntary take-back schemes and remove hazardous substances from their products so they can be recycled safely and easily”, he said.

Ogunfowokan challenged the relevant government agencies in Nigeria to ensure that only electronic products tested and certified fit for uses are allowed into the country. Indeed, the ITU-SBC collaboration seeks to collect and recycle the hazardous materials by introducing safeguards in the management of the waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), or e-waste.

According to Achim Steiner, the Executive Director of UNEP, “effective management of the growing amount of e-waste generated in Africa and other parts of the world is an important part of the transition towards a low-carbon, resource-efficient Green Economy. “We can grow Africa’s economies, generate decent employment and safeguard the environment by supporting sustainable e-waste management and recovering the valuable metals and other resources locked inside products that end up as e-waste.” There is an urgent need for improved collection strategies and the establishment of more formal recycling structures, which can limit environmental damage and provide economic opportunities.

Telcos to fuel generators with N46bn this year

Ben Uzor Jr

Telecommunications companies in Nigeria will spend about N45.9 billion in 2012 to fuel generators that power Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) – a critical network infrastructure component required to deliver telecoms services. Informed analysts in the power sector told BusinessDay that the amount could provide 284.8 megawatts of electricity at $1 million per megawatt, as states like Yobe, Taraba and Akwa Ibom can have 24 hours power supply if they have 284.8 megawatts of electricity each.

This gives credence to a recent CEO Survey conducted by PriceWaterhouseCoopers International Limited, which stated that among the major concerns to Nigerian CEOs is energy cost, which rated 93 percent on the scale of their major sources of concerns. The telecoms operators are threatening to “do something radical” in the next 18 months if the country’s epileptic power situation persists. A source told BusinessDay that tariff hike may be one of the options on the table.

Titi Omo-Ettu, president, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), spoke weekend at a consultation forum organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to obtain requisite industry input as the commission looks to develop a five-year (2013-2017) management plan. Omo-Ettu, who addressed a broad section of industry stakeholders, said operators use 25 million litres of diesel monthly to fuel 20, 000 generators located at over 15, 000 cell sites across Nigeria.

“This invariably means telecoms companies will spend N45.9 billion in 2012 to fuel generators, given that a litre of diesel is sold at N153. If in the next 18 months nothing is done about this, we might do something radical,” he said. He said telecoms services were poor across board, adding that power supply contributes significantly in lowering quality of service levels in the industry. In the same vein, Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators in Nigeria (ALTON), called on government to eliminate some of the bottlenecks hindering deployment of telecoms infrastructure.

Issues revolving around multiple taxes, right-of-way licences, according to him must be swiftly addressed in order to assist operators roll out networks timely to meet the growing demands of subscribers. According to him, Nigeria requires 60, 000 base stations to meet QoS thresholds. “There are currently a little over 20, 000 base station sites in Nigeria serving a population of over 150 million people by the end of year 2011. In comparism, there were approximately 55, 000 base station sites in the UK at the end of 2011 serving a population of just 60 million people,” Adebayo disclosed. On the other hand, the NCC disclosed that it had adopted some definite measures to address the issue of QoS. Eugene Juwah, executive vice chairman, NCC, said the commission had engaged the services of seven Driven Test Contractors to carry out quality of service testing in the six geo-political zones and Lagos.

“They will commence fully by April. It is expected to lead to comprehensive and across-the-country quality of service monitoring. In addition, our Monitoring and Enforcement Personnel have been very busy lately, either shutting down the activities of illegal users of spectrum or engaging importers of handsets that are not type-approved. We will not permit professional banditry in the industry as we are fully empowered by the Communications Act to deal with issues of compliance and standard,” he stated.

This story was first published on Business Day 02 April 2012